European Markets Overview – 29th July 2013

By Author: Harver Group
Total Articles: 26
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Jul. 30, 2013 - CHUO-KU, Japan -- The Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed half a point to 300.2, after a 0.2% dip on Friday. We expect the markets to remain fairly stagnant until later this week, as investor monitor meetings of The European Central Bank, The Bank of England, and US Federal Open Market Committee for any changes to monetary policy.

Irish based biotech firm Elan Corp. gained 11% after an announcement by US based Perrigo Co. stating that they would buy Elan Corp. for $8.6 billion in both cash and shares. Perrigo will buy Elan for $16.50 a share, 10.5% higher than Elan closed on Friday.

Dublin-based Ryan air Holdings PLC dropped more than 3% as the low cost airliner reported a 21% decline in fiscal first quarter profits, and issued a cautious outlook for the rest of the year due to high fuel costs, government taxes, and the recession.

French yoghurt producer DANONE rose 3.5% after confirming their full year targets and reporting a 6.7% climb in sales last quarter.

Advertising firms were some of the day’s biggest gainers. The French advertising firm, Publicist Group SA is up more than 2% ...
... after the announcement of a merger with the American firm Omnicom Group Inc. This merger represents the biggest deal in advertising industry history, creating Publicist Omnicom Group. It will have a market capitalization of $35.1 billion, surpassing the market leader WPP PLC. Other advertising firms also rose, French Havas SA is up more than 4% and WPP PLC is up 1.5%. Competitors are benefiting because the merger of the two giant advertising firms will cause client conflicts and drive business elsewhere.

Barclays PLC is one of the day´s biggest losers, dropping more than 4%, due to speculation that the bank will raise capital by issuing new securities. The bank has released a statement saying that they are in discussions with the Prudential Regulation Authority about their financial and capital management plans and they will update the market later this week.